On the longshore labor front, 2020 taught us lessons about handling extreme peaks and valleys in cargo volume and the need for flexibility. 2020 taught us how to develop safeguards for a workforce who were being asked to work side by side moving critical PPE and goods on and off vessels to feed the supply chain while the rest of society was being told to shelter in place and not interact with others.
Early on, the Port of New York and New Jersey was ground zero for COVID-19 cases. There was no book on safeguarding the workforce or management from the potential devastating effects of the virus, managing the forecast exponential spread of the disease, and quarantining from contact with those who did have it. To develop these safeguards, the New York Shipping Association worked hand-in-hand with the International Longshoremen’s Association to establish guidelines on how to stop the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace. This included joint efforts to secure necessary PPE from around the world, and it included non-contact -temperature-checking for 3,000 workers up to three times per day.
Longshoremen do not get paid sick days if they do not show up for work due to illness. As an incentive to continue to show up for work with the possibility of contracting the virus and cutting off their income stream, labor and management developed a fund to compensate workers who came down with the virus.
What 2020 taught us that can be used in 2021 is that under the harshest and most unique circumstances, labor and management in New York and New Jersey can come together to solve our challenges.